Jimmy Martin's Martin

"King of Bluegrass" Jimmy Martin's music career has spanned five decades, and he's owned and played a lot of Martin guitars. Here he is with his rare pre-war Brazilian D-45. Jimmy recorded 46 songs with Bill Monroe, then teamed up with the Osbourne Brothers until 1955 when he formed his own band, the Sunny Mountain Boys. He was a key member of the Louisiana Hayride and the Wheeling Jamboree. In 1972, Jimmy was awarded a Gold Album for his part in the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" along with many other great artists like Roy Acuff, Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, and Maybelle Carter. He is credited, along with other pioneers, with formulating the rhythmical pattern and sound that we have all come to call "bluegrass music."